City finished second in the U18 Premier League last year, just six points behind first-placed United, but this year the Blues are determined to finish at the summit of the table.
Taylor’s side open their race for silverware with a home match against Newcastle, a side they both won against and lost to during 2017/18, but their head coach believes if they continue to follow City’s football philosophy then the results will soon follow.
READ: U18 Premier League fixtures
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“I’m still confident about the season,” Taylor told ManCity.com. “Winning is obviously a really important part for the players and the coaches as we want to do well.
“We need to strip it back in terms of the processes, the experiences and the development that these players get and then the result will take care of itself.
“If we do all the right things, the right way with our style of football – which is really important to us – then hopefully at the end of the season we will go one step better than we did last year.”
The Blues welcome the Magpies to the City Football Academy on Saturday 11 August, with kick-off at 12.30pm, and Taylor is looking for a vibrant performance from his young squad.
“I just want us to go out and show what we’ve been doing in pre-season really,” Gareth added. “Like I said, if we perform and go through the processes that we know then the score will take care of itself.
“I’m looking for a really vibrant and positive performance from the players.
“There was a game at the beginning of last season, against Newcastle actually, and we won the game very late on. We stayed in the game and got the win in the end which meant there was such a great feeling in the squad afterwards.
“We’ve got five or six games in the first few months of the season and there will be a lot of movement between the U18s and the EDS, going back and forward.
“Our aim is to create real free-flowing football that fits in with the style of this club.”
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